Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

Born: October 11, 1884 at New York City, New YorkDied: November 7, 1962 (aged 78) at New York City, New YorkSpouse:Franklin D. Roosevelt (m. 1905 – 1945)

Offices held:
First Lady of New York (1929 – 1932)
First Lady of the United States (1933 – 1945)
1st United States Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1947 – 1953)
1st Chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1946-1952)
1st Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (1961 – 1962)

Facts about Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. In the White House, she was one of the most active first ladies in history and worked for political, racial and social justice.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady throughout her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four terms in office (1933-1945). After her husband suffered a polio attack in 1921, Eleanor stepped forward to help Franklin with his political career.

She broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, “”My Day.”” She was an American politician, diplomat, and activist who later served as a United Nations spokeswoman.

After President Roosevelts death, Eleanor was a delegate to the United Nations and continued to serve as an advocate for a wide range of human rights issues. Outside of her political work, Eleanor wrote several books about her life and experiences.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Childhood

The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, Eleanor was known as a shy child, and experienced tremendous loss at a young age: Her mother died in 1892 and her father died two years later, when she was just 10 years old.

Roosevelt was tutored privately and, at the age of 15, with the encouragement of her aunt Anna “”Bamie”” Roosevelt, the family sent her to Allenswood Academy, a private finishing school in Wimbledon, outside London, England, Roosevelt from 1899 to 1902. The headmistress, Marie Souvestre, was a noted feminist educator who sought to cultivate independent thinking in young women. Souvestre took a special interest in Roosevelt, who learned to speak French fluently and gained self-confidence.

Her first cousin Corinne Douglas Robinson, whose first term at Allenswood overlapped with Eleanor’s last, said that when she arrived at the school, Eleanor was “”‘everything’ at the school. She was beloved by everybody.”” Roosevelt wished to continue at Allenswood, but in 1902 was summoned home by her grandmother to make her social debut.

In 1902 at age 17 Roosevelt returned to the United States, ending her formal education, and was presented at a debutante ball at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on December 14. She was later given her own “”coming out party””. Roosevelt was active with the New York Junior League shortly after its founding, teaching dancing and calisthenics in the East Side slums. The organization had been brought to Roosevelt’s attention by her friend, organization founder Mary Harriman, and a male relative who criticized the group for “”drawing young women into public activity””.

Where is Eleanor Roosevelt buried?

She was buried at the family estate in Hyde Park.

How did Eleanor Roosevelt die?

She died of resulting cardiac failure at her Manhattan home at 55 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side on November 7, 1962, at the age of 78.”